OK, so this book may have hit shelves already, but the official release date is today, so I’m going to keep it as a new release post, especially since it’s not a book that many people probably have been waiting for with anticipation.
Woman, Captain, Rebel is the story of Thuridur Einarsdottier, an Icelandic woman who, throughout the late 1700s and most of the 1800s, fought hard for equality for women and a better life for the poor fisherfolk in Iceland. In a time where women were still shortchanged, Thuridur became a popular fishing boat captain, a pillar of her community, and a staunch advocate for women’s rights in the courts. Though things were often not easy, and many people opposed her along the way, Thuridur set an example of selfless caring for the community around her.
Margaret Willson’s research really shines in this biography and brings Thuridur to life for those of us who don’t know anything about Iceland’s history. This biography is engaging and encouraging, seeing how Thuridur persevered in spite of the opposition and plain meanness of some of the people around her. Even cruel betrayals weren’t enough to lead Thuridur to full-out revenge.
This biography really piqued my interest in more of Iceland’s history. It’s been my dream vacation for years, and now more than ever I want to get there and explore the harsh and beautiful land.
My one complaint comes in the title of the book. I spent most of the book waiting to see Thuridur become a rebel, lead some sort of movement, or something. But Willson uses the word with much more subtle meaning. Thuridur was a rebel because she didn’t back down or conform. She fought to retain her independence, even into old age. She fought for the rights of people her society was quick to disregard. She wore pants most of the time instead of a skirt. But she didn’t lead a rebellion, nor any large-scale movement to change society. In fact, many of the stands she took, though opposing government officials or representatives, were less about the government itself and more because those people had set themselves against her already. So while I can understand Willson’s use of the word, something like “dissenter” might be a little more accurate.
I appreciated how Willson used an afterword to highlight how historians (primarily male) have generally disparaged Thuridur as something of a bother instead of recognizing her heart and attitude for social justice. Willson acknowledges that her biography is different than much of what you might find on Thuridur (thought finding much outside of Icelandic primary sources might be challenging on its own).
Overall, this was an engaging and enjoyable read about an empowered woman who refused to be forced into a mold.
I was supposed to post this last Friday, but I forgot. And when I remembered, I knew that if I put it off a few days I’d have another book to add to it, so here we are. Changing to a monthly round-up is going to take some getting used to.
I read quite a few books this month, many of them new releases. This year has so many interesting books coming out that, although I was hoping this new format would give me leave to reread some favorite books and actually start making a dent in the physical books I have waiting to be read, I actually only got two books marked off my actual reading list this month. But, without any further ado, here are the books I read in January.
Write for Life is technically a book I started at the end of 2022, but I didn’t finish it until January 2023. But I’m including it because a) it just released 1/10/23 and b) because I enjoyed it and it’s relevant to other interests I have. Julia Cameron, perhaps best known for The Artist’s Way, released this book of essays and homework to help aspiring writers get out of their own way and make regular, daily writing a habit. Although at times I felt like the essays she included in each weekly chapter were meandering and not fully engaging, I can recognize that the ideas and suggestions are sound. Some of Cameron’s tools include, writing daily pages (essentially free writing whatever comes to mind just to get words flowing before you even start intentionally writing for the day), weekly artists dates to refill your creative well, and fill-in-the-blank sentence exercises, such as “what I’d like to write about is…” This book will be a great tool for any writer who wants to get more consistent, break out of writer’s block cycles, and just get more words on pages.
The Bleeding by Johana Gustawsson was a much darker book than I anticipated. It follows the stories of three different women, weaving them together to present a final picture that gives context to the main storyline– a gruesome murder. Maxine works with the police department and is called for by name when her former school teacher, Pauline, is suspected to have brutally murdered her husband. As Maxine and the team begins to investigate, it becomes apparent that there’s much darker forces at work. To understand the darkness, the investigators must understand the story’s beginning, which goes back to 1899 France and continues into 2002 and the secrets Maxine has been holding close for the last year. Although an intriguing book, it revolves heavily around witchcraft/satanism, which I did not know going into the story. So while the book is definitely engaging and intriguing, it’s also very dark, and takes even darker turns as each era of the story wraps up. It’s definitely not a book that will appeal to all readers. If I’d known it was so heavily into the occult, I probably would have skipped it myself.
Paris by Starlight is the story of Isabelle and Levon, two young people searching Paris for the thing that will make them whole. For Isabelle, it’s the father who left her as a child. For Levon, it’s a safe place for his family fleeing the destruction of their homeland. When the two meet, the magic of the old country begins to blossom and turn Paris into a starlit spectacle–that is, until the people of Paris go from awe and wonder to fear and hatred. Isabelle and Levon are placed in a difficult position, separated by their two worlds but longing to find a way to bring them together again. Robert Dinsdale writes a really lovely book, but it definitely dragged at times as he wove all the pieces together to create the final conflict between the old world and the new, between citizens and refugees. Dinsdale’s story challenges readers to consider their own biases and prejudices because the events happening in Paris-by-Starlight, though magical, bear close resemblance to some of the things we see in our world today. Left unchecked, a bias or prejudice can quickly lead to actions that were never intended. Despite the slowness at times, I really enjoyed this book. It reminded me somewhat of Erin Morgenstern’s writing style.
Dangerous Prayers by Craig Groeschel is a serious challenge for any Christian who is looking for something more than a surface level prayer life. Groeschel digs into three prayers found in the Bible: “search me,” “break me,” and “send me,” unpacking the implications of each prayer and how they change lives–both of the people who first prayed them and his own life. It’s a short book but not one to blaze through quickly. As readers go through the sections on each prayer, true changes will come when you sit with the questions that arise and the challenges inherent to each prayer. This book is convicting and challenging, but a great one for anyone looking to grow in their faith.
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith has been on my reading list for a while. The book follows the life of Francie Nolan, a young girl growing up in Brooklyn in the 1910s. In true literature style, it’s hard to give the book more of a synopsis than that. Francie’s life is that of an average poor young girl. She faces challenges and disappointments, clings to hope and her dreams. Francie is resilient, just like the tree growing alongside her tenement building. No matter how hard people tried to destroy it, it persevered, just like Francie. I enjoyed this book as a good change of pace. Sometimes it’s nice to have a slower book that doesn’t come with such a growing anticipation. It unfolds like a flower blooming. You don’t have to anticipate what comes next, because just like real life, it’ll simply happen. While it could be challenging for some readers (it’s just about 500 pages long), A Tree Grows in Brooklyn is also a nice literature book that doesn’t get bogged down like a lot of the older classics do.
With a title like that, one might reasonably expect sally Page’s novel to be about a librarian, maybe a therapist, a bookstore owner or employee. I personally didn’t expect it to be about a house cleaner. And yet, why not?
The Keeper of Stories introduces us to Janice, a middle-aged woman who keeps a mental library filled with the true stories she hears from people around her. These stories bring her comfort and escape from her own difficult life and story. But life soon conspires to push Janice outside of her bubble of normalcy, turning things upside down and forcing her to wrestle with the question: can a person have more than one story?
This was an engaging and fun book (although, a disclaimer for some of my readers: this book contains a fair amount of swearing, so if that’s a big turn off for you, maybe skip reading this). Readers can relate to Janice in how she collects stories–some are shared with her by clients and friends, others are snippets of conversations she overhears. At her heart, Janice is an observant woman who lives vicariously through the stories and experiences of others.
Page does a great job of writing a generally light book, but mixing in comedy and mystery so that the struggles and challenges Janice faces don’t create a heavy read. One thing I didn’t particularly love was how Page led Janice right to the edge of infidelity, preventing it at the last moment not by a moral decision but by a change in circumstances. I would have liked to see Janice taking responsibility for her life and her choices sooner, being empowered to pursue something better instead of going through the awkward experience of near-infidelity and her failing marriage.
All in all, I think a lot of readers will be able to relate with various parts of Janice’s story, and while I don’t approve of all her choices, Page writes an empowering story for Janice, one that ultimately leaves her stronger and on a path toward healthy living, instead of staying trapped by her fears and insecurities.
Sometimes I feel like I’m jumping the gun by starting to read parenting books this early, before my little one is even born, but then I remember the weight of parenthood, and I think it’s a really good idea to get started as soon as possible. Which is why I’ve added a bunch of upcoming parenting books to my TBR list for this year. It’s still probably not enough.
Parenting by Andy and Sandra Stanley focuses on one main theme: determining what you’re parenting toward. For the Stanleys, they decided early on that their end goal (and what they believe should be the end goal for all parents) is to raise kids who want to be around family (parents and siblings) long after they don’t have to be. The rest of their content, everything from acknowledging the distinct stages of parenting to how parents speak and how to manage the family schedule, revolves around the idea of creating a family where everyone actually likes each other (maybe not all the time, but at least once everyone is independent).
One thing I found very interesting in their approach, and refreshing in terms of how I’ve heard parenting from a Christian perspective taught, is that the family relationship may be of greater emphasis than faith. Certainly, the Stanleys (and Christian parents) want their children to choose the same faith and spiritual relationship they are raised to know, but if the family relationship is broken, then chances are the child will disappear if they don’t share the same faith. But if the family relationship is strong, the parent may still be able to speak life and truth to the child, even if they don’t believe.
The idea of parenting is overwhelming, and I’m willing to bet it doesn’t get less overwhelming as you go along. What I appreciated about this book was the focus on intentionality within parenting. As parents, we can only do the best we can do. We can’t force anything on our kids–or rather, we can’t force anything to last for them. But with intentionality–whether in discipline, in how we speak, or in modeling a healthy marriage and strong faith–we can set them up to choose success. And in the end, maybe that’s all we really can do.
After I discovered Mary Kubica a few years back, I’ve taken every chance to read her books. Generally, she does really good thrillers that keep you guessing and wondering all throughout the story. Her latest book, Just the Nicest Couple hits shelves today, but it didn’t land with the same oomph I’ve come to expect from her.
Both Lily and Christian and Nina and Jack seem like they have perfect marriages and perfect lives. But each couple is hiding secrets. When Jack goes missing, Lily and Christian try to be there for Nina, but it soon becomes clear that their concern comes from a source other than simple kindness. Nina just wants to know what happened to her husband–did he leave her or is there something more sinister at play? But nothing will prepare her for the truth of the situation.
Like her other books, Just the Nicest Couple establishes that the various narrators and characters may not be reliable. You know early on not to trust them, or at least not take their words at face value. As more and more secrets are revealed, however, it’s hard not to draw a conclusion. In typical Kubica style, she waits until the end to throw out the final twist. And while it’s one that makes sense, I did feel like it didn’t have quite enough lead-up throughout the story. I wanted a little bit more foreshadowing, instead of complete misdirection.
It’s been a while since I’ve read one of Kubica’s books, but I don’t remember the rest of them being full of characters that I just don’t like at all. I can’t say there was a single character in this book who I actually liked. Maybe it’s just growing up, but I can tend to get exasperated with characters who create drama and messy situations simply because they won’t work out their issues.
Overall, fans of Kubica’s work will likely enjoy Just the Nicest Couple, and for readers getting introduced to her work, it will likely serve as an appetizer to the rest of her backlist. So while it wasn’t my favorite of hers, it was still an engaging book. After all, I read it in maybe two days.
We’re almost a week into 2023, and I’m a little shocked to admit that I haven’t finished reading a single book this year. I haven’t even started a book this year (I have two that I’ve been working on since I took a vacation the for Christmas and New Year’s). But I’m OK with that, because it’s actually serving as a confirmation for me that this year, this blog is going to look a little different.
In years past, I’ve plowed through books, sometimes with a sense of stress and pressure, so that I have a new-to-me book review to post every Friday. This year I also made a point to have a minimum of one new release post each month. So I got through a lot of books, but it sometimes felt like an extra job, except I don’t get paid and very few people care if I do the work or not.
So I’m changing it up for 2023. I’m still going to do some new release posts each month, but instead of a weekly review of one book, I’m going to do a post at the end of each month rounding up the books I’ve finished and highlighting which ones I thought were the best.
I’m moving in this direction for a couple of reasons: 1. Because I want to reread some books that I’ve already read and reviewed but I never feel like I have time because I need new content for weekly reviews and there are usually so many new releases each month that I want to read. 2. Our family is growing this spring and something tells me I’m not going to be plowing through as many books with a baby to take care of. I suspect we’ll be reading a lot more picture books than novels this year.
I like to think that at least a couple people look to my reviews for books to add to their TBR list, so I don’t want to quit blogging all together. Moving to a monthly schedule should allow me to still give some recommendations while allowing me to fully get back to enjoying my reading. And that’s what I wish for you this new year–the joy of reading.
Reading, writing, living 